February 24, 2014
Merseyside householders have just two weeks left to join the energy switching scheme that aims to cut household bills.
Media Wall, Lime St
Over 1,500 people have already joined the Merseyside Collective Switch. With only two weeks left, householders are reminded to register to benefit from the collective switch offers.
The Switch Together, Save Together scheme is organised by local charity, Energy Projects Plus, together with the six Merseyside local authorities. It aims to reduce people’s energy bills by using collective buying power to negotiate cheaper tariffs from energy suppliers.
4,600 residents joined the first collective switch which took place in June and saved Merseyside residents a total of £76,435 on their energy bills.
This switch aims to be even bigger and better. By joining up with other collective schemes across the country, the partners hope to negotiate an exclusive cheap tariff.
Mr Colin Leonard from Runcorn took part in the last collective switch and saved £248 a year on his energy bills. He said; “It was easy to join, and I was really happy with how much I saved. I would recommend it to others.”
Householders are invited to register their interest by 10th March 2014. By registering their details, householders will help give weight to the scheme by increasing its bulk buying power. It’s free to join and householders will be able to see how much they would save before they decide if they want to switch suppliers. There is no obligation to switch.
Anyone can join the collective switch, regardless of current supplier or payment methods. Those who have never switched their energy supplier or who haven’t switched in the last 12 months, are likely to benefit most. The scheme aims to make it safer and easier to switch supplier, and advisors are on hand to offer free and impartial help every step of the way.
The last collective switch resulted in offers from Scottish Power, Npower, The Co-operative Energy and Good Energy, with up to £50 cashback against their tariffs for those who joined the collective switch. Offers were available on a variable tariff; fixed tariffs, quarterly billing tariffs and for prepayment customers.
The Merseyside Collective Switch is backed by Halton Council, Knowsley Council, Liverpool City Council, Sefton Council, St Helens Council and Wirral Council.
Peter Owen, Chief Executive at Energy Projects Plus said: “This is a great opportunity for the people of Merseyside to join together and collectively benefit from reduced energy bills. The last Merseyside collective switch showed that by joining together, we can make a difference. It’s free and easy to join, and there’s nothing to lose. I would encourage everyone to join in and see how much they could save by collectively switching.”
Householders can join the collective switch by registering online at www.LCRenergyswitch.co.uk or by calling the local Save Energy Advice Line on freephone 0800 043 0151, where residents can also get free and impartial help and advice about saving energy at home.
I went for a system where each panel has a separate ‘optimiser’ fitted. Reason for this is that I was surprised to find that normal systems are connected in series so if one panel fails or is underperforming then the whole array is reduced down to the same level of the underperforming panel.
